A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of crossbows and, more specifically, to apparatuses and methods regarding the attachment of bow limbs to crossbow main beams.
B. Description of Related Art
Crossbows have been used for many years as a weapon for hunting, fishing, and for target shooting. In general, a crossbow includes a main beam, a bow assembly supported to the main beam and a trigger mechanism also supported to the main beam. The bow assembly may include a pair of bow limbs that receive a bowstring. The trigger mechanism may be operable to hold the bowstring in a drawn or cocked condition and operable to release the bowstring out of the drawn condition to fire or propel a projectile, such as an arrow, away from the crossbow.
There are many know ways to mount bow limbs to a main beam. For some designs, the bow limbs are mounted directly to the main beam. In other designs, the bow limbs are mounted to a riser which is mounted to the main beam. One know device for mounting a bow limb to a crossbow is known as a limb pocket. As the name implies, a limb pocket defines an opening or pocket into which a bow limb is inserted. Limb pockets may be mounted directly to the main beam or may be mounted to a riser.
Know limb pockets generally work well for their intended purposes. They are known to have limitations, however. One limitation is that known limb pockets do not prevent relative rotational movement of the limb pocket components when the bowstring is drawn and/or released as much as desired. This limitation is especially evident with reverse draw crossbows.
What is needed is a crossbow limb pocket that prevents this limitation.